Office of the Registrar General
Important: Please read through this guide thoroughly before starting the application process. Incomplete information may result in delays in processing your request.
The following information outlines your options when making a request to Register a Notice of Contact Preference or a Withdrawal of a previously registered Notice of Contact Preference. If you gave a child up for adoption and the adoption is registered in Ontario, you may apply to register a Notice of Contact Preference.
If you are applying as an adopted person, please refer to the Adopted Person’s Guide. If you require additional information about the adoption information disclosure reforms taking place in Ontario, such as information about a Disclosure Veto or a No Contact Notice, please see our website www.ServiceOntario.ca select “Health and Social Services” link on the left hand side of the home page and click on to Adoption Information Disclosure.
As the birth parent named on an adopted child’s original Ontario birth registration, you may apply to register a Notice of Contact Preference outlining how you wish to be contacted by the adopted person. Once the Notice of Contact Preference is registered, if the adopted person requests and is entitled to disclosure of your identifying information contained in his or her original birth registration and registered adoption order, your identifying information will be released to him or her along with your contact preference(s). The adopted person must be at least 18 years old to apply for disclosure.
Please read prior to submitting your application.
When a Notice of Contact Preference you file is registered, it replaces any Notice of Contact Preference, Disclosure Veto or No Contact Notice intended for the same person that you previously filed and is currently in effect.
If you have previously filed a Notice of Contact Preference and wish to change information in the statement about how you would prefer to be contacted (page 4 of the application) you must submit a new application to Register a Notice of Contact Preference. Only the new notice will be in effect and information contained in a new statement, if completed, will be disclosed to an entitled adopted person.
Withdrawal of a Notice of Contact Preference: Once a Notice of Contact Preference has been registered you may apply to withdraw the Notice of Contact Preference.
Please read prior to submitting your application:
When a Notice of Contact Preference Withdrawal you file is registered, it causes the Notice of Contact Preference intended for the same person, which was previously filed, to no longer be in effect.
The application has several sections. Please fill in all the information requested to the best of your ability by printing clearly in blue or black ink.
Some areas of the application will not apply to you and should be left blank.
Please indicate your current legal surname (your last name) and your first and any middle names you may have. Your legal name is usually the name on your current birth certificate.
A mailing address is necessary so we can contact you in case additional information is required.
A telephone number is optional. If provided, it may be used to contact you if clarification is required. If you do not wish to be contacted by telephone, leave blank.
Service Requested (Page 1 of the application): Request only one service type either to register a Notice of Contact Preference or to Withdraw a Notice of Contact Preference. If you select more than one service type, your application will not be accepted and will be returned for correction.
Register a Notice of Contact Preference: Select this option if you are applying to register a Notice of Contact Preference intended for the adopted person or to replace a previous Notice of Contact Preference. If you wish to change information on a previous statement included with a Notice of Contact Preference, you must replace the old Notice of Contact Preference by registering a new Notice of Contact Preference. When replacing a previously filed Notice of Contact Preference, if possible, please provide the date of your previous application to register a Notice of Contact Preference.
Withdraw a Notice of Contact Preference: Select this option only if you have previously filed a Notice of Contact Preference and now wish to withdraw the Notice of Contact Preference. If possible, please provide the date of your previous application to register a Notice of Contact Preference.
When applying to register a Notice of Contact Preference, you must provide a brief statement about how you would like to be contacted and your contact information on page 4 (See sec. 48.3 of the Vital Statistics Act), and check the box in this section of the application.
Please use this section to confirm that you are a mother or father/other parent (see below) named on the original birth registration by checking only one box in this section. If you check more than one box, your application will not be accepted and will be returned for correction.
Other Parent: A child’s birth can be registered with either one or two parents named on the birth registration. “Other parent” was a category of parent added to birth registration forms in 2007. It means a person who consents to be acknowledged by the mother as the parent, if the biological father is unknown and the child was born of assisted conception with an anonymous sperm donor.
If you adopted a child and then gave the child up for adoption, your may protect your privacy rights by filing a Notice of Contact Preference indicating how you would like to be contacted by the adopted person. You will only be eligible to file a Notice of Contact Preference if the child was subsequently adopted. If you fit into this category, fill out this application as though you were a birth parent named on the original registration.
Note: Adoptive parents are not entitled to disclosure of adoption related information.
Who should this Notice of Contact Preference or Withdrawal apply to? (Page 1 of the application): As the birth parent, this section does not apply to you and should be left blank.
Note: This area is intended primarily for applicants who are adopted. If, as a birth parent, you are aware of some of the particulars of your adopted child after the adoption took place, please provide those details in this section. Otherwise, as the birth parent, you may leave this section blank.
As the birth parent, please fill in the information requested to the best of your ability. Please try and include at a minimum: Adopted person’s last name and first name given to them at the time he or she was born, sex, date of birth (approximate date if exact date is not known), birth registration number found on the adopted person’s birth certificate, if known (e.g. 1954 05 234567) and mother’s name as it appears on the original birth registration.
Additional information requested in this section of the application may help us process your application more quickly.
(Please skip this section if you are only withdrawing a Notice of Contact Preference)
If you are making a request to register a Notice of Contact Preference please complete this section of the application form.
Please indicate the date of your application and your name as it appears on the adopted person’s original birth registration (the name you had at the time of the adopted person’s birth). Hint: if you changed your name due to marriage or as a result of any other legal name change after the adoption, indicate your name before this change.
You must indicate that you want your contact preferences to apply to the Adopted Person by checking the Adopted Person box in this section. If you check any other box, your application will not be accepted and will be returned for correction.
Once the Notice of Contact Preference is registered, if the adopted person requests and is entitled to disclosure of your identifying information, a copy of the Notice along with the statement including your contact preferences (pages 3 and 4 of the application form) will be given to the adopted person by the Registrar General.
(Please skip this section if you are only withdrawing a Notice of Contact Preference)
You must provide a brief statement about how you would like to be contacted by the adopted person and the contact information (for example, contact by telephone, e-mail, exchange of letters/information, meet in person, through an intermediary or third party). Hint: Do not forget to include your current telephone number, e-mail address, mailing address or other information that you want the adopted person to use when contacting you.
Please note: Any information you may have provided in a previously filed Notice of Contact Preference, Disclosure Veto or No Contact Notice for the adopted person, will no longer be provided to him or her.
Please print or type clearly in blue or black ink and do not exceed the allocated space. The Registrar General can only accept the written text you supply in the space provided. Any additional material cannot be included with the application and will not be accepted by the Registrar General.
(Please skip this section if you are making a request to register a Notice of Contact Preference)
Once a Notice of Contact Preference has been filed you may apply to withdraw the Notice of Contact Preference by completing this section of the form.
Please include the date of your application and your name as it appears on the adopted person’s original birth registration (the name you had at the of the adopted person’s birth). Hint: if you changed your name due to marriage or as a result of any other legal name change after the adoption, indicate your name before this change.
Please check only the Adopted Person box in this section to confirm who the withdrawal applies to. If you check any other box in this section, your application will not be accepted and will be returned for correction.
Once the Notice of Contact Preference Withdrawal is registered, if the adopted person requests and is entitled to disclosure of your identifying information, the Registrar General will disclose identifying information to the adopted person. A copy of the statement (page 4 of the application form) that was included with the Notice of Contact Preference that was withdrawn will not be given to the adopted person.
As the applicant, you must sign and date the application as indicated on page 6 in order for it to be processed.
Under the Vital Statistics Act, if you wilfully make or cause to be made a false statement in this application, you may, on conviction, be liable to a fine of not more than $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years less a day or both.
Once you have completed your application, you must mail it to:
Office of the Registrar General
PO Box 9000
Thunder Bay ON
P7B 0A5
The Registrar General cannot accept applications that have been faxed, e-mailed or hand-delivered.